Feel faint in session

Has anybody fainted or felt like fainting in session?

Emdr T and I discussed last week ahead of time to try to avoid digging deep as emotionally I couldn't handle it. We had been discussing something and she asked me a question that was too emotional so we back off. Then I said I would quickly answer the question then roll it back in and not discuss it any further which she was fine with. I briefly answered the question. Almost instantly I felt like I was going to faint. I became really hot, light headed, and my body like jello. It was actually near the end of my appointment time (we have only once stopped on time) so we spent the next 20 minutes getting me to the point I could leave. She offered to get me water or a damp cloth both of which I declined. She also tried some grounding techniques but I just couldnt. She offered to let me stay longer while she did paperwork. I felt bad for being so needy so declined. I left and again felt week and dizzy and ended up sitting in the waiting room for a few minutes.

Now I wonder is this fairly common? I wonder if it was a way of disassociating. I will try to discuss it at our next appointment.

yes....some feel the dissociation coming on as feeling like they have low blood sugar. That happens to me outside therapy. In session however things feel like time is slowing down, I get pressure in my right eye and above my right eye. I just start to feel nothing and stop talking and feel immobile. I also feel if he does not ground me I could just fall unconscious.

This happens to me anytime we touch on a subject that feels too full of emotion. If I start to ‘feel’ in therapy, I immediately get very lightheaded and faint. I hate it. I feel like it stops me from moving forward and actually getting anywhere. I hate feeling faint so much that I’ll avoid any kind of topic that really means anything and keep my sessions very vanilla which then means I’m wasting so much money on nothing.
If you find a way through it, do share!!! Grounding does nothing for me. I resist it terribly.

I've had this happen once in EMDR during a visualization exercise. I'm not sure if it was because of the exercise or I had been dealing with dizziness for a few weeks beforehand. My T at the time let me stay later and didn't want me to drive home until I was sure I was safe. Thinking back it was a nice gesture that he was concerned but I felt too needy too and pushed through it so I could leave.

I've had panic attacks in session before, and one symptom of that for me can be feeling lightheaded. I've had to leave the room a couple times, and once or twice, ex-T did a relaxation exercise with me. I've found they can sometimes be caused by holding back thoughts or emotions, so I just try to say what I want to share and let the tears flow.

I have never experienced similar in therapy but I was also thinking anxiety (that I am very familiar with and it can be triggered in stressful, uncomfortable meetings). Anxiety can produce all sorts of weird physical symptoms, including states of depersonalization/derealization, which is a form of dissociation.

It sounds like fight or flight syndrome to me, the physiological reaction to fear that is usually still a "trace" in the body (a.k.a. the Body Keeps the Score) when you get close to trauma. Sounds exactly like how I feel at times when I've gone cold and, only once, when I barfed into my T's trash can.

I've had similar physical reactions. For me, it wasn't usually dissociation; I was usually fully present (although I can think of one exception to that). It was more an anxiety reaction.

I also had a habit of not breathing. I would hold my breath and not realize I was doing it. My therapists tuned into that pretty quickly and began actively making me aware of my own breathing (or lack thereof) because there were times it resulted in hyperventilation, dizziness, severe physical tension, headaches, etc.

I was also present. I could talk and move I took my sweater off. When I disassociate I freeze. I can hear everything she says but I cant move or talk. I am beginning to wonder if it happened this way because we have worked on ways for both of us to recognize I is starting to happen. If either of us recognize it is happening we do done grounding and change the topic or whatever. Wondering if my brain is finding a new way to protect me from the emotions and thoughts it doesnt feel I am ready for.

Yes, this happened a couple of times with former T. My feeling is that it is somehow related to dissociation. We would do some grounding techniques. She would offer me water, etc.